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The 2016 portion of this cyclocross season continues starting this Sunday (3 January) with the Rockville Bike CycloXross Series. Racing begins 9am at Solano Community College, Fairfield. The late-season cyclocross takes place weekly on Sundays until 31 January. John Silva and Esther Pryor report the series “will run pretty much as in years past. AND, if this current weather continues, we will probably have a few wet races!!!” Certainly a “chance of rain” is in the forecast for the first event of the series.

The long-running Central Coast series also extends into the new year. Two races remain on that calendar with both at the Fort Ord venue. Race days are this coming Sunday (3 January) and Sunday, 17 January.

Micah Rice the USAC Vice President of National Events and SuperPro had several in depth discussions that included the concerns we are hearing from many corners. The back and forth between the UCI, USAC and SuperPro has taken up several days and there are many concerns and rule sets to be addressed. The end result is a runway that is too short to land a plane this big. We all decided together that it would be for the best if we postpone the race until the following January. There simply is not enough lead-time to get something this big and this complicated (not to mention adding that special SuperPro flavor) ready in the six weeks we have left. Two weeks less than that if you consider the holidays.

We can positively guarantee you though that the event we put together will be seamless and so full of awesome cyclocross action that you too will need a full year to prepare for it so thank you in advance for supporting us in this difficult decision.

Miller Park sits just below the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers on a narrow spit of land between the Sacramento River and the Sacramento Marina. The elongated 1.5-mile course resembles some drawn Japanese calligraphy and meanders with two directions side-by-side along a few stretches. Only short elevation changes appear along the mostly grass terrain. For one challenging run-up, course designer Clint Claassen sent racers down to a muddy beach and back up the embankment. Later in the day, combined with the wake from the odd water craft or two, the water rose high enough that some racers put wheels or feet into the cold Sacramento.

Marty Woy and the GHETO CX/NorCal CX/WSCXGP syndicate are running a survey to check the affinity of NorCal Nevada’s cyclocross community for events that earn USAC-points. Though currently they are Sacramento-centric, the efforts of Woy and Co produce good vibes at WSCXGP, Gheto mid-week pick-ups, Rodeocross mid-week night racing, and SacCX. Their influence has moved east over the big hill toward Reno’s Sagebrush Series. They wish to contribute to the entire community-at-large and help grow the sport further. Click on the image or link below to go to the latest survey. An earlier survey remains open and is available through the second link below the photograph.

NorCal Nevada crowned its District’s Champions this past Sunday with plenty of top notch racing. Ryan Rinn (Vive La Tarte) overcame a bad start and took the win in Singlespeed A from deep in the field. After racing some 15 seconds adrift midway through, Michael Larson (Velo Reno) took the race for second place in Men’s A to the final corner only to succumb to a battling finish by Max Judelson (Rock Lobster).

Tanya Grossman (Los Gatos Women’s Elite Team) became a District Champion for Women 35+ to add to her season of impressive results elsewhere in NorCal Nevada. Caroline Gomez-Villafañe (Muscle Milk/Specialized) and Tobin Ortenblad (Cal Giant/Specialized) respectively took the prize for Women A and Men A in dominating performances.

This past weekend’s 3-day Santa Rosa Cup CX closed out on Sunday at the Spring Lake Park venue. Reviews are glowing from all days, on social media, and from many of the racers themselves. After her win at the Friday Night race, the Rock Lobster rider Caroline Dezendorf lauded the Santa Rosa Cup as her favourite series, saying “I think they do a really good job and I love supporting Bike Monkey.” Saturday’s Master Men 45+ winner Robert “Buckwheat” Meighan praised the work done by Carlos Perez while Gavin Haley extolled the courses and organization. “I thought it was really well done,” said Haley. “Out of the races I’ve done [in NorCal], these have been the best put-together courses. Everything was really smooth and on time. I would definitely recommend it. It was really good to kink out some fitness problems and was also a really fun 3 days.”

The event had tremendous competition with the likes of Dezendorf, Kristin Drumm (CX Nation), Gareth Feldstein (Real Wheels), Walton Brush (MashSF), Haley, Chelsea Weidinger (MashSF), Sage Alderbaran (CX Nation), Paul Haley (Rad Racing), and Joe Fabris (Plus 3) racing on all three of the days. Meighan was joined by many of his Cal Giant teammates in Eric Bustos, Brian Finnerty, and James Coates. Rachel Lloyd (Cal Giant/Specialized) ran out for Master Men on the Sunday, flatted, and then raced against the top category women. Teams well represented across the weekend included Aracata’s Adventure’s Edge, Ornot, Fresh Air-Hunter, Dfl, and Vive La Tarte. The Tarte Ryan Rinn raced gears instead of entering his usual single-speed races. Dfl’s Patrick Myall’s ride up the big Spring Lake hill proved the triumphant move in Sunday’s Men A 45+.

At the Santa Rosa Cup CX, Caroline Dezendorf (Rock Lobster) continues to dominate her races and racked up another win yesterday in Women A. The second day of the three-day series also saw Walton Brush (MashSF) fend off all challengers in the race for Men A. In Master Men A 45+, Robert Meighan (Cal Giant/Specialized) relied on tactics to take the win, after holding back in the bottom half of the eight-racer field for a good portion of the race. All three racers added to their wins at Friday’s Night Race and stand in a strong position to take the Cup in their respective categories.